The transportation industry, as well as other numerous industries, rely on the internal combustion engine as a source of power. The typical internal combustion engine employs one or more cylinders having pistons reciprocating therein. The reciprocating motion of the pistons defines an intake stroke, a compression stroke, a power stroke, and an exhaust stroke. A mixture of air and fuel is directed into the cylinder through an intake valve during the intake stroke; the air and fuel mixture is compressed during the compression stroke; the air and fuel mixture is ignited and burns during the power stroke; and, finally, the exhaust gases are exhausted from the cylinder through an exhaust valve during the exhaust stroke.
Engine speed, power, fuel consumption and emissions are typically controlled by manipulating various parameters associated with the engine. These parameters include, but are not limited to, fuel injection pressure, ignition timing, induction throttling, exhaust gas recirculation, air injection, displacement on demand systems, and induction charging. Various sensors monitor the operating conditions of the engine and these sensors provide feedback to an engine control unit (ECU) that, in turn, adjusts the parameters associated with the engine.
Typical engine configurations include V-shaped engines, in-line engines, 2-cycle engines, 4-cycle engines, gasoline engines, natural gas engines, diesel engines, and the like. While each of these engines or combination of engines has proven performance in today's applications, the continued development of internal combustion engines includes the development of engines that have improved performance, reliability and efficiency with lower emissions, and preferably have fewer components and are less costly to produce.